SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. File photoWASHINGTON, May 11. American entrepreneur and founder of SpaceX companies Elon Musk said that the Starship spacecraft can carry out an unmanned flight to Mars within five years.
"I think that we may be able to launch an unmanned Starship to Mars in 3-5 years and then, I think, if it is successful, we can send a crewed mission to Mars before the end of the decade,” the entrepreneur said at a Financial Times conference.
Musk noted that «windows» for flights to Mars open every two years, the necessary position of the planets for a flight from Earth orbit to Mars orbit is established every 26 months. «We will hopefully conduct our first launch attempt (Starship — ed. .) this summer, over the next two or three months,” added the head of SpaceX. to hell «Earlier, Musk announced plans to colonize Mar sa, the Starship rocket is being built for this. In mid-November 2021, Musk said that the orbital launch of the prototype Starship spacecraft could take place in January or February 2022. Next, SpaceX plans to make many launches of Starship. In a speech in Texas on Thursday, Musk expressed confidence that the first launch of a Starship into Earth orbit could happen in 2022. SpaceX is developing a transportation system consisting of a fully reusable Super Heavy launch vehicle and a Starship spacecraft/rocket. The system will make it possible to deliver satellites, crews and cargo both to low Earth orbits and to the Moon and Mars. gas to fuel